BOLOGNA CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR: THE 2023 GRAND TOUR CONCLUDES AT THE NEW DELHI WORLD BOOK FAIR 2024

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) is preparing to welcome professionals from all over the world to its 61^st edition, at the BolognaFiere Exhibition Centre, 8 to 11 April 2024. Alongside these preparations, both BCBF and BolognaBookPlus will be attending the final stage of the third Grand Tour around the world of publishing, the New Delhi World Book Fair.

India’s large population, includes a considerable proportion of school children and young people, and a literacy rate that continues to rise. Indian publishers’ investments are also rising, alongside their harnessing of new technologies, assisting in productivity increase.

According to a survey conducted by Scholastic India, 92% of Indian children read books and more than 77% of them believe that reading books for fun is very important. In 2021, the children’s book segment set a new sales record, with more than 6 million copies sold for a value of 1.8 billion Indian rupees (the average cost of a book being 286 rupees, equivalent to 3 euros).This year for the first time BCBF – flanked by BolognaBookPlus (BBPlus), the brand extension aimed at general trade publishers and produced in collaboration with the Association of Italian Publishers (AIE) – is heading to India to meet publishers, authors and illustrators. The Tour has been made possible thanks to the support of the ITA – the Italian Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).

Bologna Children’s Book Fair has its own stand in Hall No. 4 Booth G-03, and will present, with BolognaBookPlus, a preview of the activities planned for the coming edition in April. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 13 February at the IHC - India Habitat Centre (Centre Atrium, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi- 110003) from 6.30 pm to 9 pm, and will be followed by a live painting performance by Alessandro Martorelli, AKA “Martoz” (cartoonist and street artist, Italy) and by Orijit Sen (graphic artist e designer, India), organised in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute of New Delhi.

BCBF will also be staging the Illustrators Survival Corner, developed in collaboration with Mimaster Illustration and one of BCBF’s most successful initiatives. It will feature an extensive programme of workshops, portfolio reviews, “Ask Me Anything session” and masterclasses.

Featured guests include: Alessandro Martorelli, AKA “Martoz” (cartoonist and street artist, Italy), Elisa Macellari (illustrator and comic book artist, Italy), Prashant Pathak (Director of Publishing Operations at Prakash Books and Publisher at Wonder House Books, India), Elisabeth Pérez Fernández (Editor-in-chief, illustrator and writer, Bonito Editorial, Spain), Ivan Canu (author and illustrator, Italy), Sophie Benini Pietromarchi (illustrator, Italy).

Finally, the line up of BCBF initiatives will include two exhibitions to showcase the best of Italian publishing and illustration for children and young people to the international public in New Delhi: Honour List - Turn the world upside down, organised by the Italian section of IBBY - International Board on Books for Young People, of which BCBF and the Association of Italian Publishers (AIE) are founding members. A valuable tool that highlights the best of Italian publishing

in front of international and Indian audiences: the Honour List brings together 60 titles representing the best Italian publishing releases dedicated to children and young people.

The second exhibition is Illustrations for Gianni Rodari. Italian Excellence, BCBF’s celebration of the centenary of the birth of Gianni Rodari (23 October 1920), the first Italian author to receive the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award (in 1970) and one of the 20^th century’s most innovative and influential writers for children. The exhibition features original works by twenty-one artists who have produced their own interpretations of Rodari’s work. The artists in question are: Bruno Munari, Emanuele Luzzati, Altan, Beatrice Alemagna, Gaia Stella, Olimpia Zagnoli, Manuel Fior, Alessandro Sanna, Valerio Vidali, Simona Mulazzani, Chiara Armellini, Anna Laura Cantone, Fulvio Testa, Maria Chiara Di Giorgio, Giulia Orecchia, Nicoletta Costa, Federico Maggioni, Francesca Ghermandi, Pia Valentinis, Elenia Beretta and Vittoria Facchini. The exhibition is realised by the Bologna Children's Book Fair and curated by the Giannino Stoppani Cooperative/Academia Drosselmeier.

For further information https://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/home/878.html